Kafka, since you appear to be a somewhat serious student of music, let me pose this question to you. How do you think Marvin Gaye stacks up against some of his contemporaries like David & Jimmy Ruffin, Levi Stubbs, Smokey Robinson, etc. My personal opinion is that he is a little below their level yet he seems to get more play and attention than they do. What say you ?

quote: How do you think Marvin Gaye stacks up against some of his contemporaries like David & Jimmy Ruffin, Levi Stubbs, Smokey Robinson, etc. My personal opinion is that he is a little below their level yet he seems to get more play and attention than they do. What say you ?

I know this is a sports site that insists on rankings and champions ("All real Americans love a winner, and will not tolerate a loser"), but I try to avoid it on things like music and movies.

I like Marvin Gaye -- I would classify him more on the "sweet" side of R&B rather than the "bluesy" side, like most of the Motown singers.

The grittier soul singers generally recorded in the South. IMHO one of the best was the underappreciated Wilson Pickett -- I really like his phrasing; he never seems to make a wrong decision. If you must have a ranking and a controversial opinion, I certainly prefer Pickett to Otis Redding, who I've always found somewhat overrated.

quote: Lorraine Ellison - "Stay With Me" Does it get any better than that?

This record didn't sell well, but got such a reputation among soul fans that soon after it came out collectors were paying $50 (an absolutely mind-boggling sum at the time for a recent release) for bootleg copies